The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Purchased by Guggenheim Capital LLC

Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,327 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $5,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 9.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $714,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 12.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Clorox from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.83.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $139.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.63.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States.